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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829607">Afterliving</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisexualGhoul/pseuds/BisexualGhoul'>BisexualGhoul</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bisexual Scrooge McDuck, Character Study, Demonworth, Episode: s01e11 McMystery at McDuck Manor!, Episode: s02e06 Last Christmas!, Episode: s02e22 GlomTales!, Episode: s02e24 Moonvasion!, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Sort Of, The major character death is Duckworth, they might’ve had something going on before Duckworth died who knows</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:54:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,092</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829607</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisexualGhoul/pseuds/BisexualGhoul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Vignettes about Duckworth’s life after death, in which he rediscovers what it means to be part of the McDuck-Duck family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donald Duck &amp; Duckworth, Duckworth/Scrooge McDuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Afterliving</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Duckworth doesn’t feel fear often. </p><p>After his untimely death, it was hardly necessary for him to be afraid of the same things that the living feared. He’s far scarier than anything that might lurk in the dark, and the powers afforded to him in the afterlife are more than sufficient to protect him and his loved ones. </p><p>Most of the time. </p><p>There have been a few occasions in his afterlife where he realized that he wasn’t quite enough to combat the constant threats barraging the Duck-McDuck clan.</p><p>The Moonvasion is more than any one person—living or dead—can contend with. He fights alongside Scrooge and the others for as long as he can, switching back and forth between his demon and regular ghost form for as long as he can manage. He watches as their allies are captured. Children and adults alike are led away in gold handcuffs by aliens proclaiming planetary dominance for a celestial body that isn’t even a planet, thank you very much. Mrs. Beakley, Scrooge, the headless man-horse, and Launchpad are the only ones who escape. So many others are captured; the children’s friends Violet and Lena, Dr. Gearloose and Gizmoduck, even Quackfaster, all made prisoners in their own town. </p><p>By the time Scrooge and the others begin strategizing at Chums, Duckworth is already fully convinced of the futility of their efforts. Though it pains him, he leaves. He knows death is likely at this point, but that it isn’t the end. They can all live on in the afterlife, so he might as well ensure they’ll enjoy it. He abandons Scrooge and Bentina and everyone else, unable to cope with the realization that he can do nothing to save them. </p><p>He should’ve known that the ducks wouldn’t let the earth go down without a fight. The kids return in full force. The older generation of Duck cousins and the young nephews and niece defeated Lunaris just as Duckworth should have known they always would. As he returns from the underworld, he sees a sight he’d feared he would never see again. The family, Scrooge and all of his nieces and nephews, reunited completely. Everyone is safe and sound after saving the world. Out of some barely embodied habit, Duckworth heaves a sigh of relief as he moves to hover behind the family protectively.</p>
<hr/><p>Duckworth’s death is, in his own opinion, unbefitting of a companion of Scrooge McDuck. Part of him had always assumed he’d die protecting Scrooge, Donald, or Della from one of the many beings after them. He may have been a butler, but he is oftentimes just as involved with their shenanigans as they are. In the end though, what takes down Duckworth is a simple stroke. </p><p>It happens quickly, and as the ambulance is on its way, Scrooge speaks worriedly, leaning over Duckworth’s prone body. </p><p>“You can’t go, Duckworth, please. Stay.”</p><p>To which Duckworth replies a bit deliriously but to the best of his ability:</p><p>“Very good, sir.”</p><p>When the ambulance takes him away, Scrooge jumps into his limo and speeds to the hospital after it.  </p><p>Duckworth is already gone by the time he arrives.</p>
<hr/><p>The process of “waking up” after one has died is disorienting. For the first few years, Duckworth roams the halls of McDuck Manor repeating various tasks from life, a shadow of himself invisible to the inhabitants of the house. He cleans young Webbigail’s room, just as he always had since she and Beakley had moved in. He shines the knight’s armor that stands in the main hallway. He even runs baths for Scrooge on occasion, which the duck himself attributes to Bentina without further thought. </p><p>It’s not until a rogue Beagle Boy summons him in full that Duckworth regains sentience. When he comes to, it’s to a concerning sight. He immediately notices Scrooge’s enemies scattered about the room, and he senses a familiarly warm presence coming from the large, dark box to his left. He pulls open the door to reveal Scrooge McDuck, who looks up at him with a soft smile and tears welling up in his eyes. </p><p>Duckworth scoops Scrooge up, pleased to find he’s capable of interacting with the corporeal world when he so chooses. He delivers him to a secret room containing a security system, knowing Scrooge will enjoy seeing Duckworth take out the trash. </p><p>When he returns to the “party”, the brunt of the situation hits him at once, and he becomes uncharacteristically enraged. </p><p>It’s then that he discovers his other form. </p><p>From there, he gets to work doing what he does best: protecting Scrooge McDuck</p>
<hr/><p>Huey, Dewey, and Louie are an unexpected curveball. His first encounter with them gets a bit out of hand. After nearly killing them with an axe out of sheer demonic rage, he finds that his anger dispels quickly when they start pestering him with questions about the afterlife and his powers. </p><p>They remind him all too suddenly of a young Donald and Della. </p><p>Remembering Della’s disappearance hurts. He spends much of his free time searching for her in the afterlife before coming to the uncertain conclusion that perhaps people who die in space spend their afterlives there too. </p><p>When Beakley and Webby return, he barely has time to reconcile the 11 year old Webbigail he sees with the 5 year old who used to follow him around and ask him question after question about Scrooge McDuck. The girl greets him as she runs by, undoubtedly searching for the triplets. Bentina remains as surly as usual, a fact Duckworth finds more comforting than he’d like to admit. </p><p>It feels like acceptance. Like he’s immediately welcomed back into the family as if he’d never left. </p><p>After Bentina rudely walks through his spectral form, he floats unbothered back to where he knows the triplets—and Webbigail—are likely to be. He easily turns invisible as he enters the small tv room in which the kids are chattering back and forth about their respective weekends. Webbigail pats Huey on the back as he recounts his party planning failure, and Dewey presses her for more details about the secretive retreat she was on. </p><p>Eventually, Duckworth will be able to work through how much has changed while he lacked consciousness over the past 6 or so years. But for now, he contents himself in watching over the little ones, as he often did during Donald and Della’s youth.</p>
<hr/><p>His first Christmas back in the corporeal world is a lovely one.</p><p>He spends the evening setting up holiday decorations with the children and Donald, preparing Christmas dinner with Mrs. Beakley, and dodging Scrooge’s holiday ire. </p><p>He’s helping Donald set up a large Santa Claus animatronic when the younger man turns to him, his expression suddenly earnest.</p><p>“I missed you, Duckworth.”</p><p>Duckworth freezes in his ministrations, power cord falling from his limp grip. All at once, Donald is 10 years old again in his eyes, dwarfed in a green sweater gifted to him by his sister. He had been a clumsy kid, going to Duckworth all too often with a scraped knee or bruised elbow in need of doctoring. </p><p>“Duckworth?” comes the familiar squawking voice from beside him. </p><p>“My apologies, Donald. I was momentarily distracted. I missed you too, sir.”</p><p>“Enough with the “sir” Duckworth. How many times do I have to tell you? You’re <i>family</i>.” </p><p>Duckworth knows this, but sometimes it's hard to shake the habit. Even though Donald, at 10 years old, told Duckworth with furrowed brows and a tinge of embarrassment that <i>“You don’t need to call me sir, man. You’re--you’re my friend.”</i></p><p>Duckworth is glad that ghosts can’t cry, because his non-existent heart swells with love for Donald, whom he had always seen as a sort of surrogate son.</p><p>Donald seems to notice the breadth of his emotion, because he steps around the animatronic Santa toward Duckworth.</p><p>“Can you--uh--be solid for a sec?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>Donald practically collapses into Duckworth’s arms and says a bit tearily, “You always did give the best hugs.”</p><p>Duckworth responds by squeezing him just a little tighter.</p><p>Scrooge comes back from his yearly trip with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future with young Dewford trailing sheepishly behind him. From what he can surmise, the young boy had taken an unauthorized time travel trip with his uncle, and had learned a valuable lesson about family along the way. </p><p>Donald hugs his nephew and welcomes him back, bringing a smile to Duckworth’s face.</p>
<hr/><p>Llewelyn is grounded. </p><p>Della asked Gyro to program the DT-87 robot to combat any schemes the boy might come up with, and asked Duckworth to combat DT-87 should it turn evil. </p><p>Duckworth is relaxing upstairs reading the paper when he glances out the window and sees a large plane landing in the front yard. The assailants enter the house, and as Duckworth descends through the ceiling he sees through the open door that DT-87 has been defeated with ease. </p><p>He shifts into his demonic form and prepares to defend young Louie, who looks small and terrified from his place on the steps. He tells the intruders to leave, but before he can so much as lift a finger to defend his home and the poor child depending on him, the scourge Magica De Spell whips out an amulet. </p><p>The amulet banishes him from the house. He yells out and tries to fight it but it disorients him as it flings him back into the ethereal plane. </p><p>By the time he finds himself capable of returning to the mansion, Llewelyn is nowhere to be found. Duckworth feels at once responsible for the young duck’s disappearance, knowing that he must have been taken by Scrooge’s enemies. He unknowingly shifts once again into his demon self and lets out a bellow of pure rage.</p>
<hr/><p>Llewelyn is alright. </p><p>He enters the house with the rest of the family. They all look a little bit roughed up, and Scrooge looks particularly tense. As Scrooge goes directly upstairs to his room without saying anything else, Duckworth follows him. </p><p>“How did it go, sir? Did you win the bet?”</p><p>“Yes and no,” Scrooge says, sounding tired. He gives no further explanation. </p><p>“I’m not quite sure I understand, sir.”</p><p>“Flinty won by consolidating all of my enemies’ wealth, but Louie swindled him out of it with a technicality.”</p><p>“That sounds like a good thing.”</p><p>“It would be if Louie didn’t technically own everything now. I don’t think he plans on giving it back.”</p><p>“Would you like me to give the young sir a stern talking to?” Duckworth asks, shifting into his demon form. </p><p>“No thank you Duckworth. He’ll see that being the richest duck in the world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I think I’d just like to go to bed now.”</p><p>“Very good, sir.”</p><p>Unexpectedly, Scrooge flinches at Duckworth’s response. </p><p>“Are you alright, sir?”</p><p>“Duckworth I...I think I would appreciate it if you would try not to say those words in that particular order. If you can help it.”</p><p>“Whyever not?”</p><p>“That’s what you said right before you died.”</p><p>“My apologies, sir. I don’t believe I was quite cognizant at that point. I’ll do my best to refrain from saying that again.”</p><p>“Ya don’t have to be sorry Duckworth. I just--it was a difficult time for me, is all.”</p><p>“I know, sir.”</p><p>“Can you drop the “sir” for a little while? We never spoke about what happened or where ya were after you passed.”</p><p>“I...I believe I was here.”</p><p>“Here? We never saw you! Why didn’t ya say anything?”</p><p>“I don’t think I was ever visible. And I most definitely wasn’t in the frame of mind to try and make contact. I was...lost. I simply floated from room to room doing minor chores, I believe. I remember cleaning Webbigail’s room once or twice, dusting a bit in the garage, et cetera.”</p><p>Scrooge looks aghast.</p><p>“If I’d have known--”</p><p>“You didn’t. Please don’t feel bad on my account. Coming back to myself was like waking up from a dream. I barely remember it.”</p><p>“Well I’m glad you’re here. Very glad,” Scrooge says, reaching a hand toward his old friend. Duckworth takes care to make himself corporeal so he can accept the hand. He smoothly takes Scrooge’s hand and brings it up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. As Scrooge reddens, Duckworth allows a genuine smile to form on his face. </p><p>The time he spent wandering the halls, waiting to rejoin his family had been well worth it indeed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Come visit me on tumblr!<br/>https://duckblog-woooo.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div></div>
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